A Grimm Curse
by Lindewe
Summary: Jakob and Wilhelm Grim go about the country, conning men out of a decent living. But when Will's stubborn nature brings harm to the only family he has left, what will it take to open his eyes? R
1. Chapter 1

_Revamped and a whole lot better in my opinion. Hopefully I can finish this story by next week. After all these years, I think we can reconnect._

Adala's feet didn't make a sound as she crept through the dark room. Moonlight was filtering softly through the large window above the other brother's bed. She froze as he muttered and rolled over in his sleep.

Moving Quickly, the agility seeming out of place in such an old woman, she crossed to where young Wilhelm was deep in oblivious slumber. Even in sleep, he was branded with the smugness of pride and charm. She felt the hate start to ring in here ears. Reaching a clawed hand down to wrench out this small mortal's life, she didn't hear the other brother wake.

"Will?" The sleepy whisper nearly made Adala tumble over, Quickly she backed into the corner. Wilhelm had woken too and was busy scratching a match into the lantern between the two beds.

"Jakob, what is it?"

Adala watched from her corner, desperately blending herself into the image of a wall. Jakob was staring at her, his eyebrows wrinkled as he tried to concentrate on her. Wilhelm was instantly by his bed. "Jake? Hey. Look at me, what's going on?"

"There was a witch. In the room." Jakob looked even more confused, he gestured vaguely to where Adala was standing, watching. She was going to..."

"There are no such things," Wilhelm gently pushed his brother back into bed. "Go back to sleep you idiot."

Jakob muttered but complied, his eyes still on Adala. She resisted the urge to check her spell. Wilhelm blew out his candle and placed it on the bedside. She watched in silence as he carefully pulled the covers over is brother and gently pulled his brother's glasses off and placed them next to the lantern.

There was such care in these gestures, love and pride. He could afford such things. Adala could feel her anger start to slip, but she steeled her resolve, recalling his promise and the hope that had infused her until he had backed away, laughing at an old woman's fantasy.

Rage once again flared, again she reached for the object of her hate, but she stopped, seeing his handsome features again. He deserved much worse than death. "You promised me a kiss young Wilhelm." She whispered. "I came here to collect your life, but there is more to life than just death, there is pain, there is suffering, you shall know both before this night is over."

He had cheated her, used her and promised her and then discarded her like the rag of humanity she was. "You left me to suffer another century, and so I will take what is dearest you you, as my youth was taken from me." Why was she justifying her actions? He was an arrogant selfish boy, like so many she had seen in past centuries, like so many she would have to see.

She turned her back on him and shuffled to his brother's bed. Her bones were aching, she had not use this much magic in a long time, too long. "Ah, I remember your name now, Jakob. I have nothing but pity for you and yours but a kiss is a kiss and he must learn."

She passed a hand over the brother's face, and the moonlight seemed to pulse with a heartbeat. Her eyes became bright, full. She stood upright and for a moment her greyness seemed to retreat a little, a rosy color came rushing in it's place.

The blue light seemed to collect in her palm, she bent down and blew it gently into the face of Jakob Grimm.

She would make him suffer. The centuries and centuries of being thrown out of towns, of being cast aside and trampled. Her nature would be known, revenge had never been pressing, she had never in all the long years sought anything but redemption. But two hundred years had changed everything, had made her into what she was.

And what she was, was angry.

The bright light faded, leaving Adala older than ever, her gray hair frizzing about her face in chaotic whorls.

Jakob's movements became frantic, his chest heaved and his eyes flicking in panic under closed lids. Adala watched him sadly for a few moments and then cursing her compassion she left, closing the door half way and leaving the brothers to their nightmares.

_**.Please, please, please, please, leave a review, I grow desolate without encouragement.**_

_**-L**_


	2. Chapter 2

Hello Revamped Chapter #2!

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Jakob woke against his will, something was in his lungs, his whole chest was on fire. Every breath he tried to draw got stuck in his throat. Panic enveloped him, pushing all thoughts but _ breathe_ out of his head. Desperately he clawed at the clovers with one hand while the other was instinctively clutching at his throat. He tried to call out, but even that couldn't make it out of his filling throat. Tears leaked down his face. One more strangled, guttural cough and all the air was forced out of his lungs.

He could dimly hear a groan from Wilhelm and he fell out of his bed, beating his hands on the floor to try and make some sound to draw Will's attention.

Everything was fading, the cursing from his brother became muffled, red and purple veins crept from the corners of his eyes and stretched into the infinite darkness. Pressure that Jake couldn't take was being pressed upon his chest and head pushing him in to the ground. He was going to die, and in that knowledge, he felt as helpless as a newborn.

He was going to die and there was nothing he could do.

Gratefully he let the darkness take him

* * *

Will woke with a start. Something was in the room, an animal maybe. He moaned and turned to the wall, Jakob could take care of it. He was always taking care of the stray animals that wandered across their path. But the noise went on and on, when he could no longer take it anymore he cursed and looked around for the source.

Jake's bed was empty, but that wasn't strange, Jakob went outside at all times of the night to write in that ridiculous book of his, trying to find some cryptic truth in the pages. There was something big moving on the floor.

He squinted, not sure if it was safe to get out of bed to see what it was. He leaned forward to peer into the darkness and a hand came shooting out of the blackness and clawed at his covers. Will sprang backwards with a yelp and hit his head on the wall.

"Jake?" That was Jake's hand, that long scar on the knuckles was from last winter when a pulley had snapped out of the roof and the fake witch had fallen on him.

In a flash Will suddenly understood and he scrambled out of his bed. "Jake, what's going on?" He asked, frantic to find whatever was attacking his brother.

Jake's eyes gleamed in the moonlight, glazed and unseeing. His hands flailed about uncontrollably, grabbing at air. Terror coursed through Will's veins as he tried to calm his brother "Jake, Jakob, talk to me. What's wrong?" This was no nightmare, Jakob's hand clutched at his with such force that Will thought his hand might break.

He felt his heart stop as the pressure suddenly stopped and Jake's hand fell limply to the ground, his brother's chest now unmoving.

"No!" Will slapped his brother, trying to get those unseeing eyes to move, nothing happened. Panicking, the older brother slammed his hand down on Jake's chest, trying to force him into movement. Jake's eyes suddenly snapped back into movement and he coughed, lungs filling with air in a loud backwards scream. Relief quickly changed again to horror as he kept hacking and didn't stop.

"Easy Jake, easy Jakob, just breathe, easy now." Will said, hands hovering around his shoulder's unsure of what to do.

Jacob turned away from Will and coughed something onto the floor, something black and red. The older brother felt his stomach turn as he saw the blood splattered across the floor boards. He rubbed his brother's shoulder as he tried to refill his lungs. He tried to keep his voice level but the tremble of his fear still held in his voice. "It's going to be okay."

Jake turned over and looked up at Will. "Papa?" He whispered weakly.

Will recoiled and put a shaking hand up to his mouth. "You need a doctor, I'm going to get you a doctor."

"No!" Jake whined, a weak hand clutching at Will's shirt. "Papa, don't let me die alone."

Will froze at the words, his heart skipping a beat as he tried to hear past the roaring in his ears. "Easy Jakey, you aren't gonna die."

Jake wasn't listening, he mumbled incoherent words looking at something Will couldn't see.

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	3. Chapter 3

Revamped entry #3. Please review!

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The doctor was surprisingly young with a fox face and a slight accent in his words. Will didn't trust him.

He examined Jake with cold, clinical indifference that seemed on the verge of insulting to Will. Jake was his brother and there was something seriously wrong with him. He hadn't stopped coughing up blood and Will's shirt and hands were stained with the coppery liquid. He looked like something out of one of Jake's stories, a murderer with the blood of his victims still fresh upon his hands.

Not that Will had read many of Jake's stories, his brother was far to secretive and eager for appreciation to bare his soul to the one person he looked up to. Jake wrote for himself, it was personal and intensive and Will had never really been allowed to breach the wall of Jake's fantasies. The doctor turned away from his patient but wouldn't look at Will.

"I'm sorry, I can do nothing for him. He is too far along."

"Along in what?" Will whispered, he had to find a cure, he had to know what was wrong. He had to save his brother.

"Death."

Will had thought briefly about Jake's death when he had first called the doctor, but it was a huge leap from suspicion to knowledge. If he had been completely honest with himself he might have realized that he had been half-expecting the answer.

"He, I- He can't be- He's all the family I have left." There was something stuck in his throat. It hurt to breathe, and he suddenly wondered if he and Jake could die together.

"If you had called me sooner, I might have been able to help." The doctor rubbed his forehead and began to pack up his things.

"He wasn't sick!" Will nearly shouted at the man. Frustration, helplessness, these were emotions that he had not felt in a long time, not since Lotte's death.

"Did you notice anything? Shortness of breath, was he easily tired?"

"No. I don't... I don't think so." he felt like he was going throw up, He hadn't really been attentive to Jake. He hadn't really even thought about him getting sick. But a man couldn't just die overnight. Had he really missed the signs?

The doctor looked at him for a long uncomfortable moment. "What?" Will snapped, suddenly feeling very old and very tired. The other man looked away becoming brisk once more. "Nothing. I'd give him about a week or maybe less."

"Is there nothing I can do?" Will asked weakly, glancing at his brother's writhing form, and then away, he couldn't bare to see him like that.

"If there is, it is beyond my skills, you can ride to Stuttgart and find a doctor at the university. It is a day's ride to the west." The doctor picked up his hat. Throughout the entire conversation, he had not once looked Will in the eye. Will felt anger start to rise. The man had just told him that his brother was going to die.

He shook his head of the anger and tried to focus on saving his brother. "Can Jake travel?"

"It would be highly inadvisable."

Will could make the journey alone, probably in less than the alloted day, but he couldn't leave Jakob alone like this. "Can you stay with Jake?"

The doctors eyes grew hard. "No."

There was a groan from the bed on the other side of the room. Will, distracted from the doctor turned to his brother. "Jake?" He asked, his voice soft.

The doctor slipped out the door silently, rubbing his head again.

"Will?" It was weak, but at least he recognized his brother.

Will felt tears burn behind his calm mask. "I'm here."

Jakes gaze shifted away, over Will's shoulder. "I'm-I'm so sorry."

He readjusted his grip on Jake's cold hand. "For what?" Will asked anxiously.

"Lotte...She's here Will, She's right behind you.."

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Jake stared up at his dead sister. Will was still there, holding his hand so hard it hurt. He could hear his brother's soft sob as he mentioned their sister, gut he was fading fast into the background.

Lotte was talking but he couldn't hear her. Their mother was also there, but she was a vague shadow in the gloom compared to his brightly shining sister.

He reached out to try and stroke her cheek, but couldn't quite reach. "So beautiful."

Lotte became angry, she was growing more and more substantial, he could see them clearly now, his mother with a light hand upon Will's shoulder, his father with an arm around her shoulders. He wanted to join them, to be a family again. He could feel Lotte's skin under his fingers now, he soft skin unbreached by age. He could hear them no, through a soft ringing in his ears,

"Jacob! It's not your time, go back Jacob, go! Don't leave Will. He doesn't deserve that!"

"Yes, he does... Wilhelm Grimm, you'd be so proud Lotte. He looks just like Papa." Will was shaking his shoulder, trying to bring him into the land of the living, but here, here there was no pain, no guilt. He could have stayed here forever with his family.

"Stop it Jakey." her voice was older now, her youth was fading and she was turning into the woman she would have been if he hadn't bought those stupid magic beans.

"I'm so sorry Lotte..." He whispered.

"Please Jacob, go back, go back for-for me." She had tears on her cheeks, trembling on her lashes in little multicolored jewels. He smiled sleepily, but nodded. He would go back for a little bit, but only for Lotte.

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	4. Chapter 4

_**Sorry I went for so long without updating, I've been a little discouraged. This is for my two viewers. How are you guys doing?**_

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Will saddled his horse up. He had paid the innkeeper enough money for Jake to stay for three weeks, he would be back in one. There had been a bad hour. Jake kept insisting that Lotte was in the room and that she was telling him things. Will was praying for the first time in ten years, and no one was answering.

His horse shifted a little under his weight, but Will gripped the reigns tightly in both hands. He kicked his horse sharply and thundered out of the village, he didn't have any time.

Adala watched him go, a small, sad smile playing on her lips. "You ride as fast as you want Wilhelm, your sister was a hard bargain..." She whispered, leaning on her gnarled walking stick.

She turned and made her way into the inn. Whispering to herself as she went.

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Jacob rolled onto the floor with a thump, his sister was there, instantly, stroking his hair. "Easy Jake, Will will be back soon."

Jake closed his eyes again, his chest felt bruised and they stung like a fire had been lit within him. "I never, I never got to say...sorry." He gasped it out and panted.

"I know Jacob, I forgive you."

Jake smiled a little and winced. "Good."

"But, I made a bargain Jakey," She whispered close to his ear. "And neither you nor I can go back on it."

Jake opened his eyes and looked at her.

"I know it's gonna be hard, but you will live."

"I'm sick?" Somehow he should have known. Then why was Will gone?

Lotte ignored his question. "There is a price."

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Will unsaddled his horse, the stable boy was absent for some reason. He had ridden through the rain to reach the university. The guards at the gates of the city were quite surly and had only pointed in the direction of the school before closing the wrought iron gates again.

All in all, it had not been a pleasant trip.

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Adala entered the room, her gray skirt sweeping up the dust. Jake was on the floor, and the ghost of his sister was sitting beside him, his head in her lap. She grimaced as guilt stirred within her, she had never thought to become so evil as to hurt innocent bystanders. But her anger was still raw, and she hadn't forgiven will. Not by a long shot.

But the sister had argued and cried and fought like a wild cat. So Adala had given in, Jacob would live. But there was a catch.

She knelt by the siblings, separated only by death they surveyed her with varying degrees of anger, curiosity, and impatience.

"Who are you?" The brother asked, his voice hoarse with pain.

"Adala." She snapped at him, annoyed at his kind tone. She needed no pity, not from a dying man.

"Well, I would welcome you in but I can't get up. It turns out I'm dying" He laughed breathlessly and his features hardened again as he began to hack up blood.

"Yes."

The sister looked up at that. "You promised." there was no whine or sorrow in the accusation, only flat anger and impatience.

She liked Lotte.

"He needs to understand the conditions and the agreement. He needs to be bound to his word."

'Then hurry up. There is no _time_." There was a strange urgency about her words and expression, she was gripping tight to her brother's shoulder

They were a strange pair. Brother and sister, so close and yet separated by a fragile yet almost unbreakable barrier. And such a heavy link, even though their bond had been tested by time and death. Adala shook her head touched his forehead. "Now, Jacob Grimm, I want you to swear on your sisters grave that you will never go looking for your brother and you will only meet when coincidence brings you two together?"

Jacob swung his feverish head toward Lotte. "What?" He asked. He couldn't concentrate, his head hurt.

"Just say 'I do'."

"I do."

"Also swear that you will leave this village and never return, and that before you go, you will break me free of this curse which binds me to this body."

Jacob was becoming increasingly agitated, he breath was panting and sweat was shining on his forehead in large oily drops, Mingling with the dried blood on his face.

There was silence, Adala, forced his head toward her. "Promise me Jacob!"

"I-" He panted, his chest heaving for oxygen, "I do."

Adala leaned down and kissed him. Jacob could feel the heaviness leave his limbs. The aching in his chest that he had grown used to was gone, leaving in its place a warm, pleasant feeling suffusing his heart.

Lotte stroked his cheek one last time and disappeared from his sight. Adala however remained completely still, her lumpy face held aloft as it began to change.

Jacob watched in bemused fascination as her cheeks gained definition, her eyes lost their sickly sheen and her hair lengthened and grew full. She was a princess for the fairy tales, her regal stance so very different from the slouching hunchback she had been molded into.

She stretched reveling in the freeness of her movement. She turned back to Jake, her arm outstretched but he was fast asleep, his arms folded to his sides.

Adala pushed a chair over to the desk and pulled a pen and some paper out of a drawer. She smiled nastily as she began to write.

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_**Feel free to review, I could really use some nice comments at the moment.**_

_**Sorry that was a bad chapter, I promise the next one will be better**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**I just want to make this clear. Adala is not evil. NOT EVIL you hear me!**_

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Will paced in the corridor, his boots clicking a staccato beat into the shiny tiles. Just as he was about to turn around and shout for help, an elderly gentleman opened the door a crack.

He raised an eyebrow at Will.

"I'm here to see the apothecary?"

"Oh. Yes, now I remember, come on in."

He opened the door wider and Will followed him into a large room with dusty mirrors at each end and all sorts of creatures and foul smelling salts lining the shelves. A desk dominated the center of the room and around it small piles of books and bones lay around in heaps.

Will edged around the clutter and stood in front of the old man's desk, casting nervous glances at a bowl of sharp teethed fish.

"Don't worry about them," The stranger said, his quill balanced over a book, "They've been fed."

"Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"No doubt about that. You didn't even change."

Will blushed and gripped the edge of the desk. "I need medicine for my brother."

"You had better ask the head advisory for that."

"I tried them, they sent me here. I have seen the the headmaster, the teachers and some of the students! I am tired of running around this damned place!"

"Stop shouting, You just needed the advisory to give me permission to treat you. Okay what is wrong with your brother?"

"I don't know. The doctor didn't tell me. He was hacking up blood and he was seeing things. And he couldn't breathe." Will said quickly, racking his brains for any symptoms he might have missed.

That sounds like pneumonia... Was he shaking?"

"Uh, I guess so, I didn't stay long."

"Hmm. Did he have a fever?"

"Yes, really bad."

"That's definitely pneumonia, I'll give you-"

"Can it be cured?" There was hope in his voice and he bit back a yell of triumph as the doctor turned and nodded, looking surprised.

"It is not easy but it can be done. Any doctor in the country would know how."

Will frowned, "Then why-" He broke off, "Anyway, what will I need to to?"

"Make him drink plenty of hot water, I'll give you some herbs and powders."

"Thank you." Suddenly he felt exhausted and he sat on the nearest chair, his fingers gripping his head tightly. "I think I need to sleep."

"That's a good idea. And I dare say you'll need something to eat."

Will stood up, his head spun and the room leaned sideways. "I think I'll just..."

He exited the room trying not to grip the walls for support.

The apothecary watched him go anxiously.

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Jacob woke stretching, he was feeling surprisingly good. The air felt cool on his cheeks, which he was surprised to note had a thin layer of stubble on them.

"Ugh, what time is it?" He asked sleepily, working his jaw with one hand.

"About two in the afternoon." Said a strange whispery voice.

"And who are you?" he asked in surprise as a beautiful red-head appeared in his line of vision.

She laughed and clapped her hand in a girlish display of joy. "Adala! And you are Jacob Grimm."

"Where's Will?" His head felt fuzzy, things were hazy. There was something about Lotte...

"He's long gone."

"What? Where?" He said in panic. Will had never left Jake alone before, He had left women, horses, even money behind him, but Jake was always by his side, no matter what. Jacob had wondered about that. Will hated him after all, loathed and despised the sight of him. Nowadays, he barely took the time to look at him any more than talk to him.

Adala said nothing, her wide blue eyes were filled. _With what? Sadness? Why should she be sad?_

Jake turned to look at her fully. "What is going on?"

"Nothing, Will left early yesterday morning, You were sick."

"Why would he leave?"

"I don't know."

Adala tried to stop herself, she knew she was doing something beyond evil, separating family for the sake of revenge and whim. But It felt too good, after what the curse had done to her, she was getting happiness from pain. And there was more to come. Her powers had weakened with the renewal of her body, yet she had slowed down Will for the time being. She planned on being there when he opened his letter.

"He _abandoned_ me?"

No it couldn't be...Will would never do that. And he had been sick, according to this girl. Will had just left at the first opportunity available? What had happened? Had he done something wrong? _And something about Lotte..._ A million thoughts were racing through his head, tumbling and churning. Fear born of loneliness threatened to overwhelm him entirely.

"It's alright. You're going to be fine..."

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_**Okay here's a few notes... There is not going to be any slash or Grimcest of any kind. I don't write that. Sorry if that is what you're expecting from me.**_

_**AND PLEASE REVIEW! I have six times the reviews on the Constantine fic as on this... (And I think this one is better...)**_

_**I have the next chapter so I will update today or tommorow**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**COME ON PEOPLE, REVIEW!!**_

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Jake couldn't believe how fast things were moving. Adala had declared him melancholy and told him they were moving to a different town. Jacob didn't argue, he was grateful for any help that she could give him.

It felt strange to be easy around a woman. Jake was unused to being close with anyone other than his brother. And even then he wasn't allowed near his sibling unless they wanted to talk privately.

So when Adala took charge of his life, Jake let her. The reigns of his life were always up to his brother and now left standing alone and unsure how to proceed, the authority of a leader was a considerable comfort.

Adala was a healer. She told him to leave everything behind, clothes, horse, and even his pen and paper. But though Jake felt like a lost puppy, somethings are worth fighting for. He managed to smuggle his book out.

They left under cover of darkness, which seemed strange to Jake but Adala was insistent. The fever had left its mark on Jake and he was feeling woozy, somehow disconnected from things. It was as though someone else was saddling the horse and helping Adala into a comfortable position, someone else was eating and sleeping and riding. Jake just couldn't understand that Will had left him, left him alone for the rest of his life.

But then he had arrived at a small cottage and he couldn't remember coming there. Adala had explained that it was her family home and that she was going away for a couple of days, to visit another healer. He had nodded absentmindedly standing in his new room and she had left. He was still standing there twisting a handkerchief over and over until it was near breaking point, then unraveling to start the process again.

Jake had found the scrap of cloth in his book, the last piece of Will that he had left, the one thing of his family that had not died or left him. Because Jake was a burden, a heavy weight on hardworking deserving shoulders and he only got in everyone's way. He felt greasy, unclean. How could anyone put up with him? How could anyone ever see anything worth having in him?

Because Jake was dirt, he was unfit to be with the one person he looked up to. The one person he had always been following. The one person he never thought would leave.

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Will was shaving when he got the letter. The tavern he was staying in was uncomfortably expensive but he needed to be as close as he could to the university. The apothecary was mixing herbs and spices for him to give to Jake. Will felt happy, elated for the first time in days.

A knock interrupted his thoughts, he quickly finished up and answered the door. It was a young serving girl, still pretty but her looks were spoiled by an ugly scar that wound it's way up her face, reaching from her chin to her hairline. She handed him a note, blushing and keeping her eyes down to avoid his gaze. Will smiled at her and took the note. He waited until she had disappeared down the stairs before going back inside the room. He placed the folded paper on his bed and began to get his gear together. It wasn't until he was fully dressed and ready to ride back that he opened the letter.

It was written in blue ink, the handwriting crawling across the page in slanted spidery writing.

_To Wilhelm Grimm,_

_Jacob Grimm died last night, the twenty third of October, in your rooms. His body was burned, for fear of plague. He claimed to be your brother and wanted you to know he was 'sorry about the beans'. His ashes and personal belongings are here with me._

_My Condolences_

_Adala Gah_

Will felt his knees buckle, the innocent piece of paper drifted to the floor, dropped from numb fingers.

He was dimly aware of the coldness of the floor, and a small part of his mind was telling his that he should complain to the management about their lack of heating.

He blinked, how was his mind wandering. His brother was _dead_. His mind didn't react, he didn't feel anything.

_Jacob is never coming back._ Still no response. He couldn't move, his mind was racing, trying to bring the smallest thing to his attention, how the empty fireplace had a soot pattern like running horses, how one wall was a lighter color than the others.

And still no reaction, his head spun crazily from one idea to the next shying away from anything Jacob-related. His eyes burned, his nose itched and he longed to cry, to let something out.

But no drops fell. Instead the letters contents came rushing into his head, the implications hit him hard and he began to sob. There were no tears, only heavy racking breaths. He felt sick and tired and achy but he couldn't do anything because _Jacob is dead._

He screamed, his voice cracking towards the end, his face crumpling, allowing the rage and sorrow to come leaping out of his mouth.

There were no words, nothing could possibly let this emotion out. This emptiness suddenly filled with anger. This cavernous monster inside of him.

He screamed and yelled until he couldn't make anymore sound, until he though his throat would tear and his lungs needed air.

He screamed and screamed and screamed not caring about anything, not caring who heard.

In the bar downstairs the drunkards and travelers gaped at the ceiling, trying not to show how scared they were. Because someone was being tortured upstairs, and something that could make a man scream like that could not be easily faced, not even with twenty pistols and a stick of dynamite.

One cloaked figure didn't even flinch at the noise. Instead it reveled in the sound, preening like a cat. A flash of red hair caught the lantern-light and Adala took sip of her beer as the sound of Wilhelm's grief went on.

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_**PLEASE REVIEW!!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Thank you 42angel..**_

_**WARNING!! The Chapter below is dreadful, I don't even think it makes sense. I'm just so tired and I'm going to sleep for days after I've written this. I'm just warning you that I will probably change this a lot when I post it.**_

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Jake turned the handkerchief over again twisting it around his finger until the digit turned a sickly bluish-black. He was sitting on his bed, it was still made. He hadn't slept in two days.

Every time he closed his eyes he would see his brother's face curled up in disgust. Had he looked at Jake like that? When Jake wasn't looking had he made faces and told stories behind his back?

How many times had Will tried to get rid of him? How many times had he caught up with his brother, oblivious to Will's wants.

Jacob felt bruised inside, how could he have been so stupid as to assume that his brother had wanted him around? Suddenly anger took over, he threw the handkerchief violently to the other wall. It went about two feet and then drifted lazily to the floor, it's edges crinkled and yellowish.

"I don't need him." Said Jake to the empty house.

Dust swirled in lazy patterns as the handkerchief settled in a patch of golden sunlight. Why was there so much dust?The house was buried in two inches of the gray powder. Jacob wiped his eyes and looked around. Their were bookshelves by the windows and bed, but they were empty but for a few cobwebs and dead insects. He carefully dusted a shelf of and gently laid his notebook inside.

"He can rot in hell for all I care." Jacob said to to the ceiling, trying stop his eyes from burning.

There was no answer but Jake derived a little comfort from his voice. He would try to stay with Adala, at least for a while, if she didn't mind. He would show her how useful he could be, he would make her try to see that he would not be left again. After all, what must she think, being discarded by his own kin...

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Will turned over restlessly, he had slept for what seemed like days, he had passed out eventually, and had tried to hit the apothecary, who came to the tavern trying to find him when he hadn't turned up to collect the medicines.

There was so much rage and desperation, he just collapsed under the weight of his grief. But he had to go back and collect Jacob's things. He almost didn't want to go, he didn't want to face the reality of his brothers death.

But he had to, and with a heavy heart he saddled up his horse and rode out of Stuttgart.

The road was wet, the mud got into his tack and dried in his boots, but he found that he no longer cared. He rode hard and fast. It was hard no to think, he was used to planning in his head. But it came as a shock to realize that he was trying his hardest not to think at all.

It didn't work, he found himself thinking about the very subject he was trying to avoid, Jacob. It felt strange to say the name, it echoed in his mind. Jacob Grimm. Of the Grimms Brothers. Notorious banishers of evil, the slayers of witches and wizards, known throughout the country as extraordinary men with extraordinary talents...

He lived a while in memory, replaying the high points of his life, all of which had Jacob inside. He thought upon death and despair, on his brother and sister and mother. He reached the town with tears in his eyes.

The first person he approached was a young boy, no older than sixteen who pointed him in the direction of Mistress Adala's residence. The boy eyed him curiously.

"Wha' did ya wan' wi' tha old hag?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

Will threw him a coin and while he was scrambling for it he rode in the direction the boy had indicated. He was not in a talking mood.

It didn't take him long to reach the hut, despite the fact that everyone had known where this Adala lived, she was not liked. Everyone he asked had regarded him with suspicion and barely concealed dislike.

He reached the small building and tied his horse at the fence. He glanced at the door, a plain thing, unlike the colorfully decorated houses that surrounded it. Taking a deep breath and steeling himself he knocked at the door.

It was opened almost immediately by a young woman, a very beautiful young woman.

"I'm here for Jacob's things?"

Adala nodded and opened the door wider. She wasn't enjoying this as much as she had though she would. Wilhelm looked terrible, he was white with exhaustion and there were deep shadows under his eyes. His sister's soul stood behind him with a comforting hand on his shoulder. It was strange that the spirit had not departed from the mortal plane, there was nothing but pain here for her.

She nodded politely to and let Will in, She shut the door in his sister's face, but the soul just wafted through the wood and gave her a nasty look. Adala returned it and turned to look at her visitor.

He was very handsome, perhaps more than his brother, but she skimmed over that thought guiltily, Jacob could be dealt with later.

"I was looking for Adala Gah?" He said, his voice shaking slightly.

"You found her."

He looked rather surprised, "But the boy said you were a-a..."

"Hag, yes I know."

He looked disconcerted, but continued to glance around the room nervously.

Adala realized she was staring and blushed angrily, she was a witch, there was no room in her heart for pity. But he looked so miserable...

She slapped herself mentally and turned away from him.

"His things are over there." She said pointing to a shelf across the room.

Will walked over and stared at them, it was Jacobs pistol, a useless object, not good for anything except show. And his dagger and change of clothes, even his saddle was there. And there was a small clay pot on the shelf. It had been glazed with intricate patterns.

Will stared at it until his eyes hurt. This...this was Jacob.

"I'm afraid the horse got stolen." Adala said grinding herbs in the corner.

"Right..." Will said. "Mistress, why do you have these things? Surely you are not the funerary services?"

""I'm a friend of Jacob's."

"He never mentioned you. And we only came to this village a week ago." There was something strange about this woman, she seemed familiar somehow, but she wasn't looking at him. She was working with a fearful intensity, almost as if she was angry at something.

There was a pause. "I was with him when he died." She said.

"He didn't die alone?" Will asked, It was something he had been worrying about, he had left Jacob when his brother had told him he didn't want to die alone.

"No." She had stopped working and was leaning against the table, staring at the wall. He was surprised she was so emotional. Surely Jacob would have told him about her. She was beautiful and apparently cared for him very much.

He fingered Jacob's saddle. His money was still inside. "Do you want this?" he asked showing her the bag of coins.

She spun around to face him, her eyes bright with anger. "I don't need your charity." She hissed at him, and suddenly she wasn't so pretty, her eyes were crinkled and her face was lined. Her back was bent and she looked, old, and tired.

Will flinched back from her, bumping into a barrel that fell and rolled sloping water all over the floor.

Adala made no move toward it but glared at Will. Her face was serene once more.

"Jacob cared for you Will, and you dare come here, compensating his death with money?"

"I didn't mean-"

"Just get out."

He obeyed, slamming the door behind him.

Adala was angry, and she didn't know why but she had the strange urge to hit Wilhelm. Her bond with Jacob was showing through. The kiss was becoming unraveled, already she could feel her bones beginning to creak.

She realized with a start that she had stayed away too long.

Summoning the last ounce of magic she had left she retained her image but she needed to hurry back to Jacob.

Her horse was already saddled in the back and she mounted with a grunt of pain. Old bones in a young body, they weren't a good combination.

She rode faster than the wind trying desperately to hold on to her image. Jacob would be waiting. Her heart leaped within her as she thought of his face. The binding kiss was working too fast. She shook his image out of her mind.

Lotte drifted lazily next to her, laughing at Adala.

"I never realized, but you actually have a soul." She said.

"Shut up!" Adala screamed at her, her control slipping.

Lotte smiled cheekily but sobered when Adala began to cry.

"You're twisted, but it's not too late to change, What was done to you was inexcusable but you cannot blame everything on innocents."

Adala stopped the horse, her face changing rapidly to grow older. Lotte sighed and fed her soul magic until she was young again.

"What do I do?" Adala whispered, her hands clutching her face.

"Help them, break the vow."

"I cannot do that."

"Please, I'm begging you. They don't deserve this. It's sick. You're not even enjoying the game anymore. You have ruined your life as well as theirs."

It was raining again, shining silver drops clung to Adala's fiery hair and mixed with tears. "I love Jacob, It's part of the kiss. I will lose him if I tell him."

"If you truly love him, then tell him, I know him too well. And he will not leave you. I think once he knows you he will love you as well."

Adala stared at her. Jacob was a part of her now. And she had to protect him. She should tell him...

"No!" She screamed, her face red.

She kicked her horse into a gallop and rode away. Lotte's ghost didn't go after her, but watched her disappear sadly.

* * *

_**Once again I am sorry for the absolutely mind-numbingly bad writing but what else can I say...**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**I know its a bit confusing with the changing viewpoints but I'm just starting out with the writing and I'm trying to figure out somethings, hopefully I can get better with practice...**_

_**anyway, thank you, my two readers, for reading and reviewing this, I am eternally gratefull. Please don't give up on me yet...**_

* * *

Jacob wiped his forehead, his hand came away slick with sweat. He had been washing and dusting for three days. The house glowed with cleanliness.

He hadn't left the cottage yet, nervous in case Adala came back to find him gone. Jacob wanted to show her what he had done. He wasn't sure how far their relationship extended. Who would take in a barely recovered sick man and bring him to her house. For all he knew she wasn't coming back. But that was the least of his problems.

The house had only stored one loaf of bread and some stale spices. In the end his stomach had spoken for him and he ventured out of the house.

There was a smoke plume in the distance and he could make out the vague outline of houses to the west. He rode toward it. His horse was young and frisky but Jacob felt frail, he was recovering from illness and had eaten almost nothing in days. He was a bit nervous about his appearance, there were no mirrors in the house, only dark patches on the wall where the sunlight had not bleached the white wash. There were many such places some even had nails bent at odd angles from where a picture or frame had been violently ripped off the wall.

This made Jake a little uneasy, but he shook the feeling off. The house was old, Adala might not have had the time to paint or fix those holes...

He had taken some coins out of a jar he had found in his bedroom. There was quite a lot of money, but then healers were an asset to their villages. People would keep their herb-witches and doctors in comfortable, if not luxurious, quarters.

They were old coins. A picture of a queen on one side and on the other there was a coat of arms. They looked tarnished, and he had an uneasy feeling that they were made of solid silver.

* * *

Will stood in the stables, his hand full of Jacobs belongings. He couldn't carry them with him, his brother's saddle was too bulky. In the end he went back to see Adala but she had left.

How he hated her. She didn't have to say those things, he had known them already. But didn't she say that he was compensating his brother's death with money.

That was harsh, he hadn't meant it like that. Anyway, who was she to judge, she had known Jacob for a week, he had known him for almost his entire life. Or had he? Had he known Jacob as well as he claimed?

He felt panic rise, What did Jacob want to do? Where had he wanted to go. _For goodness sake, What was his favorite color?_

Will raked his memory, his hand on his head. Why couldn't he remember Jacob's favorite color? Had Will ever asked his brother?

He shook his head like a dog, trying to dislodge the doubts that plagued him. He had loved Jacob. He had cared. _Then why didn't I know the simplest thing about him?_

His hand were twitching, adrenaline pumped through him, he felt like running running until his heart stopped and his knees gave out.

But he didn't, the last remanents of Jacob were here. Will felt so frustrated, so angry at himself. He hadn't even asked Jacob what he liked to eat.

He slammed his saddle into stall next to him.

"No!" he shouted. Clutching at the next item on hand, a horse whip. He threw it across the stalls and it hit the other wall.

The horses were kicking at their gates, nervous already with the smell of thunder in the heavy air.

Blinded by rage he searched for something else to throw, something smooth met his fingertips, he pulled back his arm ready to throw again and he realized what he was holding, what he was about to smash. His brother's ashes.

Will's knees buckled under him and he brought the urn to his chest.

"I'm so sorry Jacob..." Hot tears pricked his eyelids, but try as he might he couldn't make them fall.

What was he going to do now? Jacob was his anchor, his one constant companion.

Women, houses, jobs, they were all things he had discarded and left behind, in the face of his brother.

Did Jacob have lovers and friends in the towns they had visited? Had he wanted to settle down?

_So sorry..._

* * *

_**This chapter took forever. I'm not kidding, I kinda forgot where I was going, the chapter I already wrote sucked, like unbelievable, I think it's because I didn't sleep for two days when I wrote it... Sorry I haven't updated in so long, my life has been a little complicated...make that extremely complicated. Anyway thank you for reading and I would really like it if you would review... **_


	9. Chapter 9

_**This is to my anonymous reviewer, Sara. You gave me hope and you review cheered me up to no end. Thank you for your support.**_

* * *

It was late when Adala arrived at the cottage, the old farm horse was gone, along with Jacob.

Desperately she ran through the rooms, not even taking off her riding boots. Everything looked different, but after fifteen years away from this house she couldn't really remember which rooms were which. In the kitchen she found a note,

_I'm at the village._

_-Jacob Grimm_

Dammit, didn't he know what they would do to him if they thought he had money? She shouldn't have left him alone, she should have stayed. Adala cursed and strode out the door, she didn't lock the cottage, the locals knew what happened if you trespassed there, actually they didn't, no one had ever made it back to tell.

She jumped right back onto her horse, her red hair was tangled from wind and sweat but she paid it no mind, she was still beautiful and the sister's magic would keep her so until their third kiss.

When she could finally be free of the curse.

And live happily ever after with Jacob.

* * *

Jacob was having the time of his life. He had bought ten loaves of bread and a basket full of apples, which had put him in favor with the townsfolk.

And then he had bought everyone drinks.

It was silly, and random, and he knew he shouldn't have done it, but it was something Will would never had even considered, but Jacob didn't care what Will thought, not anymore.

Because Jacob felt a savage satisfaction at the thought of Wilhelm nursing his drnk, alone in some dark corner of a bar, trying to see who would mug him first.

So everyone had gotten drunk over the disgusting sludge they called wine.

Everyone was so _poor. _The loaves were stale and the apples were shriveled and bruised, but Jacob had paid at least three times what they were worth.

Because Will would have disapproved.

And suddenly he was the king of the moment, playing darts with the men, something which he had never done before, and flirting with every girl in the room, even the grandmothers.

Jake was just about to throw another dart when the door opened and everyone went quiet.

It was a while before he realized that he was the only one laughing and he turned around.

Adala was in the doorway.

He hadn't ever really looked at her before. She was _stunning_. And she was staring straight at him.

The crowd parted silently, looking from one to the other. They probably though he had stolen her money.

Which he had. In a way.

_Damn_

"Jacob?" She said, her eyes softening when she saw him. She sounded, relieved, and... tired.

She looked a little disheveled, her clothes wrinkled with wear and her hair escaping from the knot at the back of her neck.

"Adala?" He asked carefully, he was feeling a little tipsy, but he was sobering fast.

"I need a drink."

Everyone seemed to relax, and a few people laughed. She tensed a little and lowered her eyes.

Jacob walked over to her put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked at him in surprise and he quickly withdrew again, hoping he hadn't offended her.

Instead, she smiled and took his arm.

"Let's go get that drink." She said.

* * *

It was nearing dawn when Adala and Jacob got back to the cottage. He was dead drunk, and she played along, they weaved their way along the road, the horse supporting them.

Jacob was singing, his voice quavering and Adala was beside herself laughing.

Jake quieted again, turning to address the horse.

"This fine species of animal, looks like my brother."

And he passed out.

Adala laid Jacob down on the bed and sat beside him, looking out the window. Jacob muttered in his sleep, his arm twitched and he frowned.

She laughed quietly and smoothed his hair away from his eyes. His sleep became calm once more.

Daylight struck through the window, turning his room to gold. She turned around to survay the quarters. Something was missing...

The dust. He had cleaned up the dust.

She laughed again, and swept his clothes up from the floor. She folded them as she walked down the hall to her own room. This room hadn't been disturbed, for which she was grateful, It was her haven, her fortress and all the home she needed.

Her books were scattered around the room along the desks and on the floor. Dried plants hung from the ceiling giving off sweet scents.

She breathed it in. Fifteen years away and it was still the same, still as calming.

But the mirrors were gone. And Adala was surprised to find that she didn't miss them.

She bent down and swept the books off the bed and they landed on the floor with a thump.

Moving quietly, she flapped the sheets and watched a dust rose up from the cotton. It sparkled in the air , like snow in summer, and she smiled and passed a hand through the swirling patterns.

But her exhaustion couldn't wait and she quickly tumbled onto her bed and slept for what seemed like days.

* * *

_**The village is called Abschiedskuss German for parting kiss (Quite appropriate I thought)**_


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